Monday, June 18, 2012

GAME REVIEW: “Pokemon Conquest” (Nintendo DS)

When it comes to Pokemon spin-off games, I'm
usually wary. Some of them, like "Pokemon Snap" or Pokemon Pinball," made great uses of the license, while others, especially more recently, have fallen into the
avoid-at-all-costs category.

But then, a wild "Pokemon Conquest" appeared.

The game, a crossover between the Pokemon series
and strategy series "Nobunaga's Ambition" (don't worry, I had never heard of
it, either) brings the Pokemon universe to a feudal
Japanese setting, where ninjas, samurais, and warring lords fight with their Pokemon to try to unite the land. Gone is the turn-based
battle system fans know, replaced with a strategy grid-based tactic system,
which, for many older Pokemon fans and fans of good
old tactic RPGs, just might be the wet dream you
never knew you had. It's a risky and surprising mixture that proves hard to put
down, and thoroughly exciting to play.

click to enlarge

Instead of leveling up your battle creatures like in other Pokemon games, in "Conquest" you grow each warrior's link
with a Pokemon, which raises their stats. Each Pokemon and warrior also has a perfect link, andwith 200 warriors and 200 Pokemon,
finding that perfect link for each warrior c
an be a task. I was a little disappointed to discover that the main character's
perfect link is with the Eevee you start the game
with (especially when other warriors have Articuno or
Mewtwo), but you can chose to link with any of a
warrior's compatible Pokemon, with fan favorites
across every generation well represented.The game
also mixes in elements of Risk. As you grow as a warlord and conquer regions,
you can delegate tasks (such as harvesting gold or seeking other warriors or Pokemon) to local representatives so you don't have to
oversee the day-by-day of each castle yourself. Between the battles themselves,
managing your army, and developing links, there's a surprising amount of depth
to this game, and I found myself continually playing, conquering kingdom after kingdomThe main downside is the way the game is divided.
After the main story mode (roughly 10-15 hours, I clocked in around eight and a
half) concludes, more than 30 post-game chapters unlock, allowing you to
further develop the characters and world. The problem is that the Pokemon you grew to high link levels are lost on these
other chapters. It makes sense, given that each of the scenarios is a
separately contained world-domination scenario. But I was still sad to see the
warriors and Pokemon I had spent time with just
revert back to square one.

click to enlarge

Additionally, there is little level grinding -- to some a staple of the Pokemon games -- and I could challenge every subsequent
warlord with almost no training needed in-between. I lost matches very rarely
until the post-game, so it seems that the bulk of the challenge, and most of
the rarer and stronger Pokemon, are reserved for that
section. The game does include a multiplayer mode, but sadly it isn't online,
opting for WIfi DLC missions as the only online
support.

But, despite its few flaws, "Pokemon Conquest" is
a gem of a game, and a surprising one, bringing Pokemon
to a genre that I never considered and doing so refreshingly and successfully.
And I mean, who can't get used to being called "Lord" all the time?

Willie Clark is a card-carrying Pokemon
master; both figuratively and literally -- just see his
Pokemon card wallet for proof. Make sure to follow
him on Facebook
or Twitter, where he will
only invade your kingdom if you steal his Jigglypuff.